I wanted to take the time today to share something more positive out of my life. In mid-May, I went on a road-trip with one of my friends from high school. We were lucky enough to have been able to hit about thirteen national parks in fourteen days. It was a pretty incredible experience. It's a bit futile for me to try and describe my feelings - I mean, even poets and writers have even struggled to put the grandeur of beauty into words. I hope simply sharing some of the photos I took will convey how amazing and healing traveling through nature was for me.

If you happen to be around any of these places and haven't visited them, I strongly urge you to...they were breathtaking, and I can't think of a better way to simply step out of yourself, leave the world behind and enjoy something sublime, quite beyond human existence...

Been browsing some photos from Sleeping Bear Dunes and Juneau - they look incredible. Kind of what I had romantically imagined American nature to look like before I hit some national parks myself. Had always been fascinated with Alaska too...ever since I read 'Into the Wild'.

_________________________
Husky

"Only the solitary seek the truth, and they break with all those who don't love it sufficiently." - Pasternak

i was a mountain climber for many years. took my first summit at the age of 12. we had no idea what we were getting into. it started out as a day hike, and ended up a near death disaster.

there were three of us. my mom's boyfriend, his friend and me.he said he had done the hike before.we got lost. his friend fell off a cliff and broke his foot. we had to take turns carrying the guys pack. then my pack fell down a cliff and i did not want to climb all the way down to get it. lost all my food. then it got dark. we slept above the tree line. in the open on the snow. burning dry bushes for fires that flared and died. i lay on a boulder all night shivering. when i suggested we cuddle to conserve body heat (saw it in a tv show) my mom's boyfriend refused, because he thought it would be gay, and he told me it would be inappropriate to cuddle with a 12 year old boy anyway. (he was definitely not an abuser). i was exhausted enough to finally pass out.

we woke up a few hours later at sunrise and saw that we were just below the summit, so we left the guy with the broken foot behind, hit the top, came back down and grabbed him, then proceeded to get repeatedly lost trying to find our way back down the mountain. this proved to be scarier than getting lost while climbing up.

late that afternoon we finally hit level ground again, but had no idea where the car was. we wandered in the bush for hours, being eaten alive by giant bugs, until we found a road, but it was on the other side of a river, which we tried to cross. i got swept away by the current, and my mom's boyfriend had to rescue me.

when we finally reached the road, we figured out which direction to walk and ended up at the car after a few miles of gravel. broken foot hobbled behind us all the way.

it was already dark again when we got in the car, my mom's boyfriend discovered he had lost his wallet on the mountain and refused to drive without his license. this forced broken foot to drive 2 hours back to the city.

it was one of the best experiences of my life, and i couldn't wait to climb more mountains.

but... i made sure that i was fully prepared and trained and properly equipped before i set foot on another mountain.

here is my first mountain.Williams Peak (2123 m - 6965 ft)

and the view from the summit (this was worth all the trouble)

have been up this peak several times since, and if you know the route, it actually is a day trip.

That is some adventure Scary, but I'm glad you made it out alive. Would love to hear more of your stories and see more photos! That view from the summit is stunning...

Hikes give a nice analogy to recovery in some ways...the higher you go up, the better the view starts to get, but it becomes more and more strenuous and tiring. And sometimes the trail leads you into rough terrains, with hardly any views and you have no idea where you're going or what you're doing. But you know the view from the summit is going to be amazing, so you keep going up and up.

_________________________
Husky

"Only the solitary seek the truth, and they break with all those who don't love it sufficiently." - Pasternak

the odd thing is, i do not remember feeling scared. i don't believe i was. not even once. not even when i got swept in the river. i was watching a great adventure movie in my mind, and i just knew i was never really in danger. i knew i was destined to survive. i was the star. i was the hero. i lived in that state of emotional detachment for many years. off and on for decades.

this may have been what saved me when i was being raped by the serial killer. my denial of fear and fascination with danger made me a perfect victim, but it also made me an adventurer.

I
agree that my access and use of the MaleSurvivor discussion forums and
chat room is subject to the terms of this Agreement. AND the sole
discretion of MaleSurvivor. I agree that my use of MaleSurvivor
resources are AT-WILL,
and that my posting privileges may be terminated at any time, and for
any reason by MaleSurvivor.